DUI charges oust officer

A 25-year-old Howard County police officer charged in an on-duty drunken-driving accident is no longer employed by the department, Chief William J. McMahon said this week.

Officer Tyronne Cole Jr.'s cruiser collided with several parked vehicles in the parking lot of the Southern District police station in North Laurel shortly after he arrived for work about 11 p.m. March 3.

Investigators determined that alcohol was a factor.

McMahon said that he could not say whether the officer was fired or had resigned because that information is part of Cole's confidential personnel file. But McMahon said the fact that Cole is no longer an officer is an "appropriate outcome," given the charges.

Cole, of Randallstown, had been a member of the Police Department since 2004. DUI charges are pending in Howard County District Court.